North County Report: Assembly Race Is Also a Crowded Affair

Three Democrats bail on a congressional forum, an Oceanside slow-growth group is slow to disclose its financials and more in this week’s roundup of North County news.

Mike Levin alone at the March 2 forum hosted by Flip the 49th, a super PAC. Photo by Jamie Scott Lytle.

Republican Assemblyman Rocky Chavez’s decision to run for the 49th Congressional District has left an opening for both parties in the 76th Assembly District. For the first time in several cycles, locals have a competitive state election on their hands.

Since 2012, the Democrats have held off running a candidate in the 76th District, where Republicans once held a strong advantage in voter registration. Businessman Thomas Krouse has twice challenged Chavez in the general election. This time around, 11 candidates have filed for the June 2018 primary, including four Democrats and seven Republicans.

On the left, there’s freshman Encinitas Councilwoman Tasha Boerner–Horvath, Michelle Gomez, James Medford and former public relations person Elizabeth Warren.

Chavez still maintains an active Assembly committee account, which brought in $214,000 last year and spent about $119,000. That was before Rep. Darrell Issa announced his decision to retire, opening the gates to GOP congressional candidates, Chavez included.

Graham had been planning to run for 2020, raising nearly $90,500 in the process, but he changed course. Only four other candidates reported fundraising last year: Boerner-Horvath with $55,000, Warren with $32,300, Gomez with $18,300 and Medford with $2,400.

Like the Democrats in the 49th District race, Republicans in the 76th District may end up splintering the vote, allowing two liberals through the primary. As the Union-Tribune reported last weekend, what was once a Republican stronghold has shifted left, giving the Democrats an almost equal number of registered voters and the first serious shot at picking up the seat in a while. The district is becoming older and whiter, but also less Republican.

Kerfuffle in the 49th

Last Friday, the Democratic activist group-turned-super PAC Flip the 49th! held a forum meant to winnow the field of contenders to replace Rep. Darrell Issa in Congress. That kind of worked, but in its wake, Democrats are more divided than ever.

At the last minute, three of the candidates dropped out of the forum: Doug Applegate, Sara Jacobs and Paul Kerr. Applegate provided no explanation while the others cited legal and ethical concerns about attending an event held by a political action committee, a type of organization with which candidates are prohibited from coordinating.

As Mother Jones first reported, Levin was the only one who made his pitch for why he deserves Democrats’ support. The question was meant for every candidate, but in their absence, the organizers had to ask it of empty chairs.

Del Mar Approves Enhancements for Downtown

The changes will happen in phases over about six blocks of Del Mar’s downtown, bringing bike and pedestrian amenities — and a lot of trees — to the area, which is expected to cost $5.6 million. The Coast News writes that a plan was first put in place in 1996, but the specifics and environmental reviews only kicked off last year.

Other North County cities are either considering or implementing similar “complete street” changes, and both opponents and supporters of bike lanes have used Del Mar as a local point of comparison.

Oceanside Slow-Growth Group Is Slow to Disclose

The organizers of an initiative to limit growth in Oceanside’s agricultural and open areas are facing complaints about their lack of transparency with election authorities.

The Union-Tribune reports that the Fair Political Practices Commission is reviewing a complaint alleging Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources, or SOAR, has violated state and local laws by not filing required financial disclosures.

Though the group has been collecting signatures to get their initiative on the ballot, and is expected to submit them to the city this week, City Clerk Zack Beck told the U-T that SOAR has filed none of the required disclosure forms with the city.

“Since we will turn in our signatures March 13, we will submit the appropriate disclosure forms after notification we are on the ballot and can begin our campaign,” SOAR organizer Dennis Martinek said. “SOAR is a low-budget, grassroots organization, and we will fully disclose our financials as required.”